Lucknow: As many as 112 leading milk producers of Uttar Pradesh were felicitated at the grand Godhan Samagam–2026 held at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. The event celebrated excellence in dairy production and promoted indigenous cattle conservation.
State Cabinet Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Political Pension, Dharampal Singh, honoured 63 milk suppliers with the Gokul Award and 49 producers for highest cow milk production with the Nand Baba Award for the year 2024–25. The awardees received trophies, certificates and cash prizes.
Under the Gokul Award, Varun Singh from Lakhimpur Kheri (Lucknow Milk Union) secured the state-level first prize for supplying 1,81,272 litres of milk and received ₹2 lakh. Virendra Singh from Agra (Firozabad Milk Union) won the second prize with 1,10,693.50 litres and received ₹1.5 lakh. District-level awardees were given ₹51,000 each.
Under the Nand Baba Award, Arun Kumar from Rampur (Moradabad Milk Union) was honoured with ₹51,000 for supplying 19,066 litres. Other district-level awardees received ₹21,000 each. Notably, 25 of the 112 awardees were women, reflecting growing female participation in dairy entrepreneurship.
Five districts—Hardoi, Aligarh, Amroha, Jalaun and Raebareli—were also recognised for outstanding work in stray cattle conservation.
Addressing the gathering, the Minister described Godhan Samagam–2026 as a confluence of tradition, culture and the state’s rich bovine heritage. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment, under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, to promote indigenous breeds and enhance milk production.
Officials highlighted that Uttar Pradesh ranks first in milk production nationally. Under the Uttar Pradesh Dairy Development and Milk Product Promotion Policy 2022, ₹550 crore investment has enhanced daily processing capacity by 39 lakh litres and generated around 1,500 jobs. The Nand Baba Milk Mission, with an outlay of ₹1,000 crore over five years, has benefited 10,000 livestock farmers so far, with further expansion planned in 2026–27.
Around 1,000 farmers attended the event, while lakhs joined virtually through webcasting across districts, making the programme a major outreach initiative for strengthening the state’s dairy economy.
